Planer type milling machine with center head



A ril 5, 1966 G. E. MARX PLANER TYPE MILLING MACHINE WITH CENTER HEAD 6Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.

ocooooon INVENTOR. GRAHAM E. MARK,

ATTOHNEYS.

April 5, 1966 G. E. MARX 3,244,077

PLANER TYPE MILLING MACHINE WITH CENTER HEAD Filed Dec. 17, 1964 6Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. GRAHAM E. MARX,

ATTORNEYS.

April 5, 1966 A X 3,244,077

PLANER TYPE MILLING MACHINE WITH CENTER HEAD Filed Dec. 1.7, 1964 O O C)G INVENdOR. RA HAM ARX Flg. 7

BY K A %W,M

ATTORNEYS April 5, 1966 G. E. MARX 3,244,077

PLANER TYPE MILLING MACHINE WITH CENTER HEAD Filed Dec. 17, 1964 6Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig.9

INVENTOR. GRAHAM E. MARX,

ATTORNEYS.

April 1966 G. E. MARX LLING MACHINE WITH CENTER HEAD PLANER TYPE MI 6Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 17, 1964 INVENTOR. GRAHAM E. MARX,

n'ToRNEvs,

G. E. MARX 3,244,077 PLANER TYPE MILLING MACHINE WITH CENTER HEAD April5, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. GRAHAM E. MARX,

Filed Dec.

ATTORNEYS,

United States Patent 3,244,077 PLANER TYPE MILLING MACHINE Wl'i CENTERHEAD Graham E. Marx, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The G, A.

Gray Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Dec. 17,1964, Ser. No. 418586 10 Claims. (Cl. 9tl15) This invention relates to aplaner type milling machine provided with a center head which isarranged for movement transverse the planer bed on a cross rail, thecross rail itself being arranged for vertical movement on the columns ofthe machine.

It often happens that in the machining of certain articles andparticularly the drive members on the ends of steel rolling mill rolls,that it is desirable to do machining work on a planer type millingmachine which cannot be accomplished by means of a tool secured toeither of the spindles of the conventional side heads.

It has, therefore, been the practice to provide an attachment whichcould be bolted to the side head on one of said columns, with atelescoping bridge arranged to be secured to the side head on theopposite column, and such attachment was arranged to be driven from thespindle in one of the side heads. Such attachments have been subject tovarious objections, the principal ones being that the bridge between thecolumns has not been sufiiciently rigid but more importantly that thechangeover, involved in picking up the attachment, positioning it,securing it in place, has averaged hours of time. Much time is usuallylost in waiting for a crane and in order to make the attachment as rigidas possible, a great many bolts were provided and therefore the machineusually had about two hours down time before the attachment was inposition, properly secured and ready for use.

With the foregoing considerations in mind, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide a device which will do everything of whichthe conventional attachment was capable but which can be placed inoperative position or removed from operative position out of the way innot more than a few minutes. Further objects include the provision ofsuch an apparatus which will be extremely rigid and therefore capable oftransmitting far greater horse power than was possible with theconventional attachment and which is provided with safety devices suchthat the danger of a drop are entirely eliminated.

These and other objects of the invention which will be described in moredetail hereinafter or which will become apparent to one skilled in theart upon reading these specifications are accomplished by that certainconstruction and arrangem nt of parts of which the following describesan exemplary embodiment.

Reference is made to the drawings forming a part hereof and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a planar type milling machinehaving the center head of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the cross rail.

FlG. 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the cross rail.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of one end of the crossrail.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the cross rail, 21 column and aside head showing the pin mechanism in one position.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the pin mechanism in itsother position.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken on the line 88 ofFIG. 6.

3,244,677 Patented Apr. 5, 1966 FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view on aconsiderably enlarged scale of the center head, taken on the line 99 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken on the line l010 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary rear view of the machine showing the cross railand center head as seen from the rear of the machine.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged front elevational view of the center head; and

FIG. 13 is an elevational view of the same as seen from the left of FIG.1.

Briefly, in the practice of the invention the planer type millingmachine may be in all respects an entirely conventional machine having atable which is reciprocable along ways and having at each side of thebed a fixed column and having a side head arranged for vertical movementon each column along ways on the column under the influence of leadscrews on the column engaging nuts in the respective side heads. Thelead screws may be coupled together so that the two side heads may becaused to move in exact synchronism. Each side head is provided with aquill which may be advanced and retracted and in each said quill is aspindle to which a suitable tool may be attached. As is well known, whenthe spindle in such a side head rotates, the cutting tool is caused torotate and the feed may be in a horizontal direction by movement of thetable to which the work piece is secured, or in a vertical direction byvertical movement of the side head and in a transverse direction byadvancement or retraction of the quill. All of the foregoing is in everyrespect conventional and well known and does not constitute a part ofthe present invention.

According to the present invention, such a machine is provided with across rail extending between the columns and arranged to move in avertical direction along said columns and the cross rail is providedwith a center head which is freely movable transversely of the bed ofthe machine along the cross rail. Means are provided on the center headfor the attachment of cutting elements on the front or on the rear or onthe bottom of the center head. The cross rail is provided with a pinmechanism by means of which it may be selectively pinned or secured tothe two columns in its uppermost out of the way position, or pinned andthus secured :to the two side heads when they are brought to theiruppermost position in synchronism. When the cross rail has thus beenpinned to the two side heads and freed from the columns, it will ofcourse move upwardly and downwardly along the columns with the sideheads as they are caused to move upwardly and downwardly on the columns.The center head is provided with coupling means whereby it may beconnected to the spindle in one of the side heads by advancing the quillin said side head so that transverse movement of the center head alongthe cross rail is accomplished by causing the respective quill toadvance or retract and the coupling device is geared to one or morespindles whereby rotation of the side head spindle is transmitted to thecenter head spindles. By means of the center head spindles, surfacestransverse to the bed and table of the machine may be machined or holesbored parallel to the length of the table and horizontal surfaces may bemachined or vertical holes bored.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1,the conventional planer type milling machine Will be described onlyinsofar as it is necessary to an understanding of the present invention.This machine will conventionally be provided with a bed 10 upon which atable 11 is arranged to reciprocate. On each side of the bed and tablethere is provided a column 12.

On each column there is v provided a side head 13. Each column isprovided with a lead screw 14 which engages a nut (not shown) within therespective side head so that as the lead screw rotates, the side headsare caused to move up and down. These side heads are counterbalanced bymeans of the cables 15 running over the sheaves 16 and provided withcounterweights (not, shown) as is conventional. In each spindle there isa quill 17 and in eachvquill there is a-spindle '18. Various electricmotors are provided for rotating the spindles 18 at appropriate speedsand under the influence of control levers the quills -17 may be causedto advance. or. retract at suitable speeds. The table is reciprocated ina conventional manner. The lead screws 14. through gearing (not shown)are connected to the shafts 19, which shafts 19 may be connected ordisconnectedby clutch mechanism within the casing 20, whereby the heads.13. maybe caused to move individually, that is, onev without the other,orwhereby, the two heads may be vbrought to their uppermost position andupon operation of. theclutching mechanism, the two heads may be causedtomove in exact synchronism.

The apparatus thus far described-may in all respects be entirelyconventional and'will not be described further since the details donot-form any part of the present invention.

According to the present invention, the machine is provided withacross-rail 21. This cross rail, as best seen in FIG. 5, is ahollowbox-like weldment and is provided with a plurality of webs 22 forstrengthening the cross rail beam and'the webs 22 may be provided withopenings 23to reduce weight. A plurality of gusset plates 24 are alsoprovided for. additional strength.

The columns are provided withways 25 along which the cros rail maytravel and [the usual retainers 26 are provided to keep the cross railin engagementwith the ways on the column.

At the top of the cross rail'there are provided the pins 27-which areaxially aligned, one of'whic-h is connected at its inner endto a pistonwithin the, cylinder 28, and the-otherofwhichisconnected, to thecylinder, as at 27a. By admitting-hydraulic, fluid to one. side of thepiston, the two pins-:27 are. forced" apart (the piston moving in onedirection and thecylinder in the other direction). To retract the pins,hydraulic pressure isapplied to the other sideofthepistonand thereby thepins -27 are retracted (the piston and cylinder returning to theiroriginal position). It will be understood that suitable flexiblehoseconneotions (not shown areprovided, leading to the cylinder-28-at-its two ends. The pins are arranged when the cross rail is in itsuppermost position to enter apertures 31in the columns '12. In thismanner the cross rail ispinned to the columns in its uppermost out ofthe way position. The pins-27 may be provided with the large ends-32 sothat when the pins are advanced to the position shown in FIG; 7, theenlarged portions 32 thereon serve asa safety to prevent withdrawal ofthe pins until the cross rail is elevatedslightly and this can only bedone when thecross rail is coupled to theside heads as describedhereinafter.

The crossrail isprovided withan additional pairof pins 33'and thepins-33 are adapted to engage in apertures 3,4 in the sideheads 13.Each. pin 27 is connected to the. respective pin 33 by a link-35 pivotedat its center as at 36 .and engaging a pin 37 'on the pin 27 and a pinSS-onthe-pin33. It will now be clear that if the pins 27 are advancedinto engagement with thecolumns 12, the pins 33' are withdrawn from theside heads 13. This positionis shown in FIG. 7 andwith the parts in theposition of FIG- 7the side heads may be moved away leaving the crossrailand center head out of the way at the top of the columns, When it isdesired to use the cross rail andcenter head; the .two side headsaremoved up .to their .uppermost position and fluid is supplied to theports SD-of the-cylinder 2.8-to retract the pins 27 and advance the pins.33.- I-t will-be noted that the pin 27 will enter the column 12 beforethe pin 33 is released from the side head 13 and similarly it willremain engaged with the column until after the pin 33 engages the sidehead. In this way there is no danger that the cross rail and associatedparts will drop. Block's 21a are secured to the side heads 13 (FIG. 11),to support the weight ofthe cross rail, so that there will be no weighton the pins 27 and 33 when they are shifted.

The center head is indicated generally at 40 and is arranged to ridealong ways 41, 42 and 43 onthe cross rail 21. The center head isprovided'with a spindle extending horizontally from front to rear andindicated generally at Hand a spindle extending vertically downward andindicated generally at 45.

configuration 47 of a milling cutter so that the'drive shaft 46 may beconnected to the spindle of one of the side heads13, as shown in FIG. 1-in broken line, and held in position by the usual draw bararrangement48.

As will be seen from FIGS. 9 and-l0, the spindle 46 has.

secured to it a bevel gear 49 which mesheswith a bevel gear 50. Thebevel gear 50-is keyed onto the spindle 44. The spindle 44 carriesanother bevel gear 51 which meshes with a bevel gear 52; secured tothespindle 45.

With the foregoing escription in mind, it will now be clear that if thecross rail and center head arein theiruppermost out of the way positionshown in solid lines in FIG. 1, with the cross rail pinned to the twocolumns.

as shown in FIG. 7, if it is then desired .to attach the cross rail andcenter head to the side heads for use, the following operations areperformed. If the side heads are not coupled in synchronism, they areboth run up to their uppermost position and then coupled so as to be insynchronism. The pin mechanism is then actuated to advance the pair ofpins 33 and-retract the pair of pins 27. in this waythe cross rail issecured to the side heads and freed from the columns. The quill 17 oftheappropriate side head is advanced until the tapered element 47 ofthe-drive shaft 46 of the center head 40 is brought into engagement withthe spindle 18 in said side headand the drive shaft 46- is secured tothe spindle by the conventional drawbar arrangement 48: The center headnow ready for use in that rotation of the spindle 18'pr0duces rotationof the spindles 44 and 45 and it will be clear that cutting elements maybe attached to either end-of the spindle 44 or to the spindle '45 asdesired. The center head may be. caused to feed transversely of thetable, i.e. along the cross rail by advancing or retracting'the quill 17and the cent-er'head may be caused to feed'in' a vertical direction bymovement in'synchrom'sm of the side heads. It will be understood thatsuitable clamps (not shown) and associated control devices (not shown)are provided to clamp the cross rail to the columns when taking a cutwith the center head. These clamps are arranged in conventional mannerto operate automatically when the direction selector switch controllingthe side heads is in the neutral position.

When it is desired to return to conventional operation, it is onlynecessaryto run the side heads up to their uppermost position andactuate the pin mechanism to movev from the position of FIG. 6 to theposition of FIG. 7 and to disconnect the draw bar 48 and retract thequill 17 to clear the spindle 46. The side heads may then be lowered andthe machine may be used in its conventional way with the cross rail andcenter head left in their uppermost out of the wayposition. As mentionedabove, it requires only a few minutes to attach the center-head for useor to dispose it out of the way. It is not necessary towait for a craneto be available and the usual jockeying of an attachment into positionis entirely avoided.

It will of course be understood that the side heads'are counterbalancedas by means of two cables 15 running over the pulleys 51 but this isconventional practice.

It is. also provided with a drive shaft 46. (FIG. 10) which may have thetapered- It will be clear that various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a planer type milling machine having a bed, and a column at eachside of said bed, each said column having a side head arranged forvertical movement on the respective column by means of a nut in eachside head in engagement with a lead screw in the respective column, andsaid lead screws being arranged to be coupled together to cause saidside heads to move in synchronism, and each of said side heads carryinga quill arranged for movement toward and away from the opposite column,and a spindle rotatable in each of said qui ls; a cross rail mounted forvertical movement on ways on said columns, a center head mounted forhorizontal movement on ways on said cross rail, said center head havingat least one rotatable spindle, said cross rail being arranged to besecured to said columns in its uppermost position out of the way, andalso being arranged to be secured to said side heads upon release fromsaid columns, and means for coupling the spindle of one of said sideheads to the spindle of said center head, whereby said center head ismoved in a vertical direction by movement of said side heads in avertical direct-ion, and in a horizontal direction by movement of thequill of said one of said side heads, and the spindle of said centerhead is caused to rotate by rotation of the spindle in said one of saidquills.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said center head is provided withthree spindles, two of said spindles being disposed on a horizontal axisparallel to said bed and oppositely directed, and the third spindlebeing disposed on a vertical axis and downwardly directed, all of saidspindles being interconnected by gearing, whereby when said center headis secured to said side heads and connected to the spindle in said oneof said side heads, all three spindles rotate and a cutting tool may besecured to any one or more of said spindles.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said cross rail is provided with afirst pair of oppositely directed pins, and said columns adjacent theupper ends thereof are provided with sockets into which the respectivepins of said first pair may enter when said cross rail is in itsuppermost, out of the way position, and means for projecting said pairof pins into column-engaging position and retracting them fromcolumn-engaging position, said cross rail having a second pair ofoppositely directed pins, and each of said side heads having a socketinto which the respective pins of said second pair may enter when saidside heads, in synchronism, are brought to their uppermost position,said pairs of pins being interconnected such that projection of saidfirst pair produces retraction of the second pair, and vice versa, thepins of said first pair being longer than those of said second pair,whereby said cross rail remains secured to said columns until it issecured to said side heads, and is secured to said columns before it isreleased from said side heads.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the means for projecting said firstpair of pins into column engaging position and retracting them therefromcomprises a cylinder and a piston in said cylinder, the piston beingconnected to one pin of said first pair and the cylinder being connectedto the other pin of said first pair, and means for applying hydraulicpressure to said cylinder on one side of said piston while venting saidcylinder beyond said piston, and for applying hydraulic pressure to theother side of said piston while venting the cylinder on said one side.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the interconnection between saidpairs of pins comprises two substantially centrally pivoted levers, oneconnected at one of its ends to one of the pins of said first pair andat the other end to one of the pins of said second pair, the other ofsaid levers being connected at one of its ends to the other pin of saidfirst pair, and at its other end to the other pin of said second pair.

6. A planer type milling machine having two columns, a side head on eachof said columns, a quill in each side head and a spindle in each quill,and a cross rail freely movable vertically on ways on the respectivecolumns and securable selectively to said columns in an out of the wayposition, and to said side heads for ver tical movement therewith, acenter head freely movable horizontally on ways on said cross rail andhaving at least one spindle, and means for coupling said center headspindle to one of said side head spindles for movement of said centerhead horizontally with the respective quill and for rotation with therespective side head spindle.

'7. A machine according to claim 6, wherein said center head is providedwith three spindles, two of said spindles being disposed on a horizontalaxis transversely of said cross rail and oppositely directed, and thethird spindle being disposed on a vertical axis and downwardly directed,all of said spindles being interconnected by gearing.

8. A machine according to claim 6, wherein said cross rail is providedwith a first pair of oppositely directed pins, and said columns adjacentthe upper ends thereof are provided with sockets into which therespective pins of said first pair may enter when said cross rail is inits uppermost, out of the way position, and means for projecting saidpair of pins into column-engaging position and said cross rail having asecond pair of oppositely directed pins, and each of said side headshaving a socket into which the respective pins of said second pair mayenter when said side heads, in synchronism, are brought to theiruppermost position, said pairs of pins being interconnected such thatprojection of said first pair produces retraction of the second pair,and vice versa, the pins of said first pair being longer than those ofsaid second pair, whereby said cross rail remains secured to saidcolumns until it is secured to said side heads, and is secured to saidcolumns before it is released from said side heads.

9. A machine according to claim 8, wherein the means for projecting saidfirst pair of pins into column-engaging position and retracting themtherefrom comprises a cylinder and a piston in said cylinder, the pistonbeing connected to one pin of said first pair, and the cylinder beingconnected to the other pin of said first pair, and means for applyinghydraulic pressure to said cylinder on one side of said piston whileventing said cylinder beyond said piston, and for applying hydraulicpressure to the other side of said piston while venting the cylinder onsaid one side.

It). A machine according to claim 8, wherein the interconnection betweensaid pairs of pins comprises two substantially centrally pivoted levers,one connected at one of its ends to one of the pins of said first pairand at the other end to one of the pins of said second pair, the otherof said levers being connected at one of its ends to the other pin ofsaid first pair, and at its other end to the other pin of said secondpair.

No references cited.

WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner. G. A. DOST, Assistant Examiner.

6. A PLANER TYPE MILLING MACHINE HAVING TWO COLUMNS, A SIDE HEAD ON EACHOF SAID COLUMNS, A QUILL IN EACH SIDE HEAD AND A SPINDLE IN EACH QUILL,AND A CROSS RAIL FREELY MOVABLE VERTICALLY ON WAYS ON THE RESPECTIVECOLUMNS AND SECURABLE SELECTIVELY TO SAID COLUMNS IN AN OUT OF THE WAYPOSITION, AND TO SAID SIDE HEADS FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT THEREWITH, ACENTER HEAD FREELY MOVABLE HORIZONTALLY ON WAYS ON SAID CROSS RAIL ANDHAVING AT LEAST ONE SPINDLE, AND MEANS FOR COUPLING SAID CENTER HEADSPINDLE TO ONE OF SAID SIDE HEAD SPINDLES FOR MOVEMENT OF SAID CENTERHEAD HORIZONTALLY WITH THE RESPECTIVE QUILL AND FOR ROTATION WITH THERESPECTIVE SIDE HEAD SPINDLE.